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John Wardle

The one and only! Jah Wobble began his musical career at 18 as a founder member of Public Image Limited. His heavy, hypnotic bass lines defined the post punk era and have influenced many musicians over the last 30 odd years.

John Wardle originally met John Lydon, John Grey and Sid Vicious at Kingsway College, London, in 1973. It was Vicious who originally nicknamed John “Jah Wobble”after a drunken binge, and would also loan him his first bass guitar.

During the heyday of punk rock in the mid to late 70s, Wardle earned himself the reputation of being something of a wildman. His original introduction to the bass stemmed from his long-term obsession with dub reggae music. Combined with the D.I.Y. punk ethos, Wardle embraced punk and reggae, and in the process, created an original rock/reggae hybrid of his own.

After discovering his fascination with the bass guitar, Lydon asked Wardle to join Public Image Limited (aka PiL) during the spring of 1978. Wardle’s distinctive ‘low end’ bass immediately put PiL on the map and became the backbone of the band. ” The band’s debut album Public Image Limited included the band’s eponymous first Top 10 hit single.

After two magnificent albums, including the mighty Metal Box , Wardle became increasingly disillusioned by the music scene and the politics of the band and their reluctance to play live, and eventually split from the band in mid 1980.

After PiL, and before the genre became in vogue, Wardle became a well respected session and solo artist, with a genuine passion for Eastern and Global music.

Having overcome his alcohol problem in the mid-eighties, Wardle is now a reformed character. His wild man days are now long behind him, and he is now a dedicated family man with a documented interest in spirituality, and in 2000 received a B.A in Music and Philosophy.

More recently Wardle, a published author himself, has become an ambassador for London Libraries and embarked and a speaking tour all over the UK as well as playing extensive tour dates with his band ‘Invaders of The Heart’